Men's Soccer Plays to 2-2 Double Overtime Draw at Framingham

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – The Framingham State University men's soccer team battled Bridgewater State University to a 2-2 double overtime draw this afternoon in Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's soccer action at Maple Street Field.

The Rams have now played back to back double overtime draws as they move to 5-5-3 on the season and 4-0-1 in the MASCAC.  The Bears are now 5-5-2 on the year and 2-1-2 in the conference.

Bridgewater State jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 1:44 onto the contest as junior Simao Mendes (Brockton, Mass.) scored an unassisted goal.  Mendes leads the Bears with six goals on the season.

The game would remain 1-0 in favor of the Bears until the 68th minute when they added an insurance goal.  Freshman Kyle Gordon (Uxbridge, Mass.) sent the ball ahead to senior Adam Smith (Kingston, Mass.) and Smith broke away from the Rams defense and found the back of the net for his fourth goal of the year.

Bridgewater State goalkeeper Joe Parsons (Springfield, Mass.) kept the Rams at bay turning away everything sent his way until the 70th minute.  Freshman Bryan DaSilva (Milford, Mass.) sent a cross into the box and classmate Cory Cardeiro (Westport, Mass.) headed it home cutting the Bears lead in half.

The Rams knotted the score in the 83rd minute as sophomore Romulo Carvalho (Milford, Mass.) sent a cross to Ronaldo Vieira (Framingham, Mass.) and Vieira placed a shot just inside the left post for his team leading eighth goal of the season.

Neither team had very good scoring chances in the first overtime, but the Rams had the best opportunity to score in the second when with 5:30 remaining Vieira had the ball at the top of the box.  Vieira fired a shot at the top right corner of the net, but Parsons made an acrobatic save to preserve the draw for the Bears.

The Rams outshot the Bears 25-19 in the game and held an 11-1 advantage in corner kicks.  Parsons finished the game with 15 saves, while Sam Yoder (Southbridge, Mass.) made 10 for the Rams.

The Rams return to action on Tuesday when they host Keene State at 3:30 p.m., while the Bears travel to Wheaton College on Wednesday at 4 p.m.